Review: 'The Blue Lamp' is a Gripping Black-and-White Snapshot of Life in Post WWII London

During the voice-over opening of Basil Dearden's quasi-docu-style film "The Blue Lamp" we are told about the "restless and ill-adjusted youngsters" that are responsible for the postwar increase in crime in Britain, and how their "natural cunning and ruthless use of violence" has "so far kept them out of trouble."

The film, made with the cooperation of the British police, never attempts to figure out why these "delinquents" are so restless and ill-adjusted. They are the problem, and the police are the solution. Period. End of story.

Of course, the film was made seven decades ago, opening in January of 1950, and was quite a success with audiences. Written by ex-cop T.E.B. Clarke ("The Lavender Hill Mob"), "The Blue Lamp" focuses on two police officers: Veteran cop George Dixon (Jack Warner), who is on the verge of retiring, and his young new partner, Andy Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley). George brings Andy home to his wife (Gladys Henson), who instantly takes to him and moves him in (he becomes a surrogate son for the aging couple, as they lost their boy in the war).

The narrative also follows the dastardly petty crimes of two young delinquents, Tom and Spud (Dirk Bogarde and Patric Dornan, respectively), as well as the young girl (Peggy Evans) who has gotten herself mixed up with the blokes. When a robbery goes bad, George is shot by Tom, and the search is on to capture these blights on humanity.

"The Blue Lamp" is a gripping black-and-white snapshot of life in post WWII London, and features one of the early performances of Bogarde, who had charisma to spare; even though he wasn't allowed nuance, he still elicited empathy from me.

Warner and Henson do wonderful work as well.

Dearden, director of "Dead of Night," would go on to helm "Victim," one of the first films to overtly tackle the subject of homosexuality, albeit in a messy manner. That film also starred two-time BAFTA winner Bogarde.

The main issue with "The Blue Lamp" is that the scales are so tipped on the cop side. I've never seen police portrayed in such a wholesome and completely righteous way, while our criminals are basically just scum.

The Blu-ray transfer captures the Noir-esque shadows nicely, and the sound is fine.

This Kino Lorber Studio Classics Special Edition features a new audio commentary by entertainment journalist and author Bryan Reesman, who states that the "The Blue Lamp" was the most popular Brit film in the UK in 1950, among other tidbits. A partial audio commentary by Writer Jan Read and Academic Charles Barr is also featured.

A locations featurette with film historian Richard Dacre tours the areas that were used during filming. And there's an audio goodie, BBC Radio 3's "The Essay: British Cinema of the 40s," which speaks to how films of the '40s were used to bond people.

"The Blue Lamp" is available on Blu-ray on June 1, 2021.